U.S. Lumber Coalition Applauds President Trump’s America First Focus on Trade Law Enforcement
May 9, 2025
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CONTACT: Zoltan van Heyningen
[email protected] | 202-805-9133
U.S. Lumber Coalition Applauds President Trump’s America First Focus on Trade Law Enforcement
- President Trump backs America First trade law enforcement with increased funding for trade law enforcement
- As harmful Canadian unfair trade worsens, B.C. Premier Eby claims unfair trade poses no harm to U.S. industry and workers
- Premier Eby suggests using money owed to the U.S. taxpaying public as “incentive” to bail out Canadian industry
Washington, D.C., May 8, 2025 – As President Trump seeks to back his America First commitment to aggressively enforce U.S. trade laws against harmful foreign unfair trade practices, British Columbia Premier Eby suggests using U.S. border tax collections to bail out Canadian lumber producers. Premier Eby’s suggestions fly in the face of repeated findings by the U.S. Department of Commerce that Canadian exporters continue to engage in egregious unfair trade practices that harm U.S. softwood lumber producers and workers.
“Thank you, President Trump, for your unwavering focus on enforcing our trade laws against Canada’s unfair trade practices that are harming our softwood lumber industry, our workers, and our communities each day,” said Charlie Thomas, Vice-President of Shuqualak Lumber and Former Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.
“It is outrageous that Canada once again suggests using import duties paid by Canadian companies as a consequence of their own behavior to bail out the very same Canadian lumber producers who harm U.S. companies and workers on a daily basis,” stated Andrew Miller, Chair/Owner of Stimson Lumber Company and Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition. “We categorically reject using money owed to U.S. taxpayers to benefit Canada and its lumber industry. Import duties collected by the U.S. government belong to the American public and are not a slush fund to bail out Canadian bad actors engaging in unfair trade.”
“Let’s be clear about the current situation. Canada faces the reality of having to pay an additional $1.3 billion dollars in import duties it underpaid in 2023, and faces higher duties over the next year because of its ongoing egregious unfair trade practices. Premier Eby’s response is that the United States should stop enforcing U.S. trade laws and instead give billions of dollars to Canadian industry. This amounts to a U.S.-funded bailout of the Canadian industry,” stated Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.
“Instead of asking for a U.S. government-funded handout, Canada should simply stop engaging in unfair trade practices. If Canada does not like anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties, it should stop dumping lumber into the U.S. market and stop subsidizing its industry. It really is that simple,” concluded van Heyningen.
Enforcing the U.S. trade laws helps increase the U.S. supply of lumber to build American homes, all without impacting the cost of a new home, as demonstrated by data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Fastmarkets Random Lengths.
U.S. lumber community voices on President Trump’s trade law enforcement and the positive impacts on U.S. manufacturing:
About the U.S. Lumber Coalition
The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees and woodland owners, working to address Canada’s unfair lumber trade practices. Our goal is to serve as the voice of the American lumber community and effectively address Canada’s unfair softwood lumber trade practices. The Coalition supports the full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to allow the U.S. industry to invest and grow to its natural size without being impaired by unfairly traded imports. Continued full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws will strengthen domestic supply lines by maximizing long-term domestic production and lumber availability produced by U.S. workers to build U.S. homes. For more information, please visit the Coalition’s website at www.uslumbercoalition.org.